“You can chain me, you can torture me,
you can even destroy this body,
but you will never imprison my mind.”
you can even destroy this body,
but you will never imprison my mind.”
Monday, October 31, 2011
Case Study on SELF-ACTUALISATION EVEN BEFORE PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS
Mr. Joga Ram, 28 years old, joined Loyola College, Bina, a small town in Madhya-Pradesh, as an attender in 1981. He is married and has three children. His salary, inclusive of all allowances, is just Rs. 425 per men sum as he posted in a non-grant-in-aid job. His salary is less than the statutory minimum wage and it is not sufficient even to meet the bare necessities. He does not have any other source of income.
Mr. Joga Ram’s self-actualization need is to be respected as the best actor in the town. He spends nights in practicing the action. He also spends major part of his salary for organizing dramas. He mobilizes funds from the lecturers of the college and the elite of the town to organize functions. These functions include inauguration of his cultural organization and his own felicitation by the prominent public servants. But his wife complains to the principal of the college about his activities and inadequacy of the salary even to meet the bare necessities of their family.
Glossary for Hospitality
Spouse Program - Special activities planned for those who accompany an attendee to a
convention, trade show or meeting. Note that programs today are not simply for women,
but rather for men and women, spouses and friends. Programs must be creatively designed to interest intelligent and curious audiences.
Supplier - Those businesses that provide industry products like accommodations,
transportation, car rentals, restaurants and attractions.
Target Audience/Market - A specific demographic, sociographic target at which
marketing communications are directed.
Target Rating Points - TRPÕs are a statistical measurement which allows one to evaluate
the relative impact of differing advertising campaigns.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thought of the Day
“If you want to succeed
you should strike out on new paths,
rather than travel
the worn paths of accepted success.”
~ John D. Rockefeller
you should strike out on new paths,
rather than travel
the worn paths of accepted success.”
~ John D. Rockefeller
Case Study on Market research companies run out of information
A ready supply of information about customers, actual and potential, is vital to marketing managers. Consumers have become increasingly fragmented and sophisticated in their buying habits, while the growth in size of business units calls for information which can be easily analysed and acted upon. Gone are the days when most market research could be done simply by the owner/manager of a business listening to their customers.
Specialist data collection companies have come to play an important role in the task of collecting information about buyers. Organisations such as Experian, CACI and Claritas have developed a role in providing socio-economic and lifestyle data which is sold on to client companies to make their targeting more effective. With the growth in direct marketing, it is important to many clients to have specific information about each individual customer, rather than a general aggregate for the whole market. This applies to information about new prospects, as well as new and additional information from people already on their databases, which is important because people's circumstances change. In contrast to client firms' need for this information, consumers by the end of the 1990s were showing increasing resistance to providing information for commercial purposes.
Tourism Glossaries
Accommodation capacity: The measure of accommodation stock at a defined destination. May be given by various different measures: e.g. number of establishments; number of main units within an establishment (e.g. rooms, caravan stances); capacity in terms of residents (e.g. bedspaces).
Accounting period: Normally one year, the period for which accounts are drawn up
Accreditation: A procedure to establish if a tourism business meets certain standards of management and operation.
add-on: any component of a package tour that is not included in the package price
Advanced ecotourism: A level of accreditation consisting of all core criteria as well as some of the advanced certification criteria.
Accounting period: Normally one year, the period for which accounts are drawn up
Accreditation: A procedure to establish if a tourism business meets certain standards of management and operation.
add-on: any component of a package tour that is not included in the package price
Advanced ecotourism: A level of accreditation consisting of all core criteria as well as some of the advanced certification criteria.
Business Quiz
1. Which techno entrepreneur once said “Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we have done something wonderful… That’s what matters to me”?
2. In which year was the I-phone 4 launched in India?
3. Which Indian IT czar hailed Steve Jobs as the Michelangelo of the computer generation?
4. In which year did Steve Jobs come to India?
5. How many music tracks has the Indian counter of I-tunes sold ever since it took shape?
6. In the year 2007 Steve Jobs addressed a public gathering saying his company had come out with three revolutionary products -a wide screen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary Mobile phone and a breakthrough Internet communications device, all punched into one. What was he referring to?
7. What nick name did the American media give to the I-phone?
8. Which business tycoon hailed Steve Jobs as insanely great?
9. Name the computer company that Steve started up after being ousted from Apple?
10. Name the brand of personal computers produced by Apple.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Thought of the Day
“What is defeat?
Nothing but education;
nothing but the first step
to something better.”
~ Wendell Phillips
Nothing but education;
nothing but the first step
to something better.”
~ Wendell Phillips
GVK acquires majority stake in Mumbai airport
Once the transaction is complete, the infrastructure firm will hold 50.5% of Mial, up from 37%. Bid Services will still hold another 13.5% stake in the airport operator, ACSA Global of South Africa 10%, and state-run Airports Authority of India the remaining 26%. “With the completion of this acquisition process, GVK will have a majority control in one of India's largest and prestigious infrastructure projects,“ G.V. Krishna Reddy, chairman, GVK Power, said in a statement.
GVK Airport Holdings Pvt.
Ltd, a unit of GVK Power, on Tuesday said it has bought 108 million equity shares from Bid Services for $231 million.
In March, GVK Power had entered a share purchase agreement with Bid Services, without disclosing details of valuation.
Despite regulatory challenges, Indian aviation is a most happening space and local groups are convinced to buy out global partners' shares, according to Amber Dubey, director of aerospace and defence advisory at consultancy KPMG.
Real Estate Glossary
Adjustable Rate Mortgages have fluctuating interest rates, but those fluctuations are usually limited to a certain amount. Those limitations may apply to how much the loan may adjust over a six month period, an annual period, and over the life of the loan, and are referred to as "caps." Some ARMs, although they may have a life cap, allow the interest rate to fluctuate freely, but require a certain minimum payment which can change once a year. There is a limit on how much that payment can change each year, and that limit is also referred to as a cap.
When a borrower refinances his mortgage at a higher amount than the current loan balance with the intention of pulling out money for personal use, it is referred to as a "cash out refinance."
A time deposit held in a bank which pays a certain amount of interest to the depositor.
Effective communication with people in the workplace
Employees often face communication problems with their boss, subordinates, clients and others.
Employees seldom leave these problems at the office, they bring them home to cause even more problems, with their loved ones.
Fixing problems at the workplace can make a huge difference in a person's life. People can heal relationships, get ahead at work, and just plain enjoy more their days at the office.
Improving your listening skills
•Overcoming the main barriers to communication
• Reading people's body language at the workplace
• Influencing a subordinate to improve his performance
•Identifying and stopping a bully boss and other abusive personalities
•Doing well in job interviews
•Dealling with conflict in the workplace
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thought of the Day
Successful leaders don't start out asking, "What do I want to do?" They ask, "What needs to be done?" Then they ask, "Of those things that would make a difference, which are right for me?" They don't tackle things they aren't good at. They make sure other necessities get done, but not by them. Successful leaders make sure that they succeed! They are not afraid of strength in others. Andrew Carnegie wanted to put on his gravestone, "Here lies a man who knew how to put into his service more able men than he was himself".
Case Study on New line in mobile phones
One of the oldest principles of marketing is that sellers may sell features, but buyers essentially buy benefits. This is a distinction sometimes lost on technology led organisations, and the service sector is no exception. Recent experience of the UK’s largest telecommunications company, Vodafone, illustrates how crucial it is to see service offers in terms of the benefits they bring to customers. The company was aware of extensive research which had found high levels of confusion among purchasers of mobile phones, with a seemingly infinite permutation of features and prices. With four main networks to choose from, dozens of tariffs and hundreds of handsets, it’s easy to see why buyers sought means of simplifying their buying process. Throughout the 1990s, Vodafone had positioned its UK network as superior technically to its competitors. Advertising focused on high coverage rates and call reliability.
Vodafone was the UK's most popular mobile phone operator, with almost eight million customers, including 4.2 million Pay as you Talk customers. It had opened the UK's first cellular network on 1 January 1985 and was the market leader since 1986. Vodafone's networks in the UK - analogue and digital - between them carried over 100 million calls each week. It took Vodafone more than 13 years to connect its first three million subscribers but only 12 months to connect the next three million. Vodafone had the largest share of the UK cellular market with 33% and more international roaming agreements than any other UK mobile operator. It could offer its subscribers roaming with 220 networks in 104 countries.
Despite all of the above, Vodafone was aware that although it was recognised as an extremely strong business in the corporate marketplace, it was not so strong in the market for personal customers. Research indicated that personal buyers bought Vodafone for essentially rational reasons rather than having any emotional attachment to the brand. The success of the competing Orange network, which had developed a very strong image, was a lesson to Vodafone that many people did not understand many of the product features on offer, but instead identified with a brand whose values they could share. Vodafone recognised that it needed to be perceived as adding value to a consumer’s lifestyle. Given the increasing complexity of product features, positioning on technical features was likely to make life more confusing for personal customers. An alternative approach was needed which focused on image and lifestyle benefits.
The company decided to hire Identica – the consultancy that originally created the One 2 One brand – to revamp its brand communications and advertising strategy in an effort to make Vodafone more appealing to personal customers. Identica created a new ‘visual language’ for the Vodafone brand. Vodafone became involved in the biggest ever TV, press, poster and radio advertising campaign in its 15 year history. Employing a completely new style, the new advertising centred around the theme: 'You are now truly mobile. Let the world come to you' and featured a new end-line - Vodafone YOU ARE HERE. The campaign demonstrated how Vodafone's products and services were designed to make life easier for its customers.
Marketing Glossaries
1.atmospherics
The physical characteristics of the library such as architecture, layout, signs and displays, color, lighting, temperature, access, noise, assortment, prices, special events, etc., that serve as stimuli and attention attractors of users to the library or information agency.
2.barcode
An information technology application that uniquely identifies various aspects of product characteristics, increasing speed, accuracy, and productivity of distribution process. Most library materials are barcoded for security.
3.culture
The set of learned values, norms, and behaviors that are shared by a society and are designed to increase the probability of the society's survival. These include shared superstitions, myths, folkways, mores and behavior patterns that are rewarded or punished. For libraries, the understanding of different cultures, as new immigrant groups move into the market area is extremely important to take into consideration, in order to provide the needed materials and services.
4.destination merchandise
A type of merchandise that motivates or triggers a trip to a specific store. A library's special collection on African history is an example. This is also a 'specialty good.
New Product Introduction (ITC)
ITC Limited - Foods Division today announced the launch of its new snacks brand Bingo, which marks the company's foray into the fast growing branded snacks segment. The launch of Bingo represents ITC Foods' fifth major line of foods business after the highly successful Staples, Biscuits, Ready-to-Eat and Confectionery businesses.
The category of snacks is characterised by a few organised players with limited offerings but the unorganised sector continues to rule the market. However, the organised sector is one of the fastest growing FMCG categories with an estimated growth rate of 30% annually.
The organised snacks category is sub-divided into the traditional segment (Bhujia, chanachur etc.), Western segment (potato chips, cheese balls etc.) and the newly stablished Finger snacks segment, which is an adaptation of traditional offerings to the western format.
Tata's all telecom brands now under Docomo
Brand Tata DOCOMO will now move into the CDMA space, and all Tata Indicom customers will be migrated to Tata DOCOMO from October 20.
Tata Teleservices Limited's (TTL) CDMA, GSM, 3G and Photon platforms will now be available under the unified brand Tata DOCOMO. This move will help create a single-point brand interface for the users of its services.
Brand Tata DOCOMO will now move into the CDMA space, and all Tata Indicom customers will be migrated to Tata DOCOMO from October 20.
Speaking about the integration of the CDMA business, earlier called Tata Indicom, into Tata DOCOMO, Gurinder Singh Sandhu, head, marketing, Tata DOCOMO, tells afaqs!, that consumers do not buy into the bytes that a CDMA or a GSM service offers, but buy into the benefits.
The company also unveiled an integrated business approach of 'access, content and solutions.' This will bring in the full might of TTL's telecom experience to customers through an elevation in the promise from 'only telecom' to seamless 'Access', relevant 'Content' and differentiated 'Solutions'.
Talking about adopting the name Tata DOCOMO across the entire offering of TTL, Sandhu says, "DOCOMO is a highly successful brand." He mentions how a brand's promise needs to be about telecom, along with the need for innovation.
The migration of services to the unified Tata DOCOMO brand will happen in Delhi and NCR at a later date. The company claims that this move will not impact TTL's Indicom, Photon and Walky consumers in Delhi, as they will continue to get the same quality of service as in the past.
Under the new integration, Walky will now be called Tata DOCOMO Walky, and Tata Photon will be Tata DOCOMO Photon.
A high intensity campaign to pronounce the new amalgamation of businesses will follow the announcement. It has been created by Draftfcb Ulka and the media mandate is managed by Lodestar UM.
The TV campaign will go on air from today, October 20, backed by print and outdoor. On the digital front, there will be common interface for the entire spectrum of offerings.
Friday, October 21, 2011
F1: A scope beyond cricket
The event is rumoured to be generating revenues worth Rs 50-60 crore, excluding the Rs 125-150 crore ticket sales revenue over the three-day event that begins on October 28.
Indian advertisers, hailing from the land that once favoured only cricket, may be expanding their scope after all.
Although not a highly optimistic picture yet, with select 'few' brands associating with the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, marketers may be weighing towards the fact that Indian advertisers are gearing up to go global.
Airtel establishes this well. The telecom company has inked a deal worth approximately Rs 30 crore per year to come on board the international sporting event as the title sponsor, over a period of five years.
Meanwhile, names such as Vodafone, Petronas, MRF, BPCL, Tata Motors, Bharti Cellular, Sony, Samsung, UB and Perfetti have signed up, too, deeming it to be the right event to get associated with to tap into the fast-paced consumer set.
As a result, the event is estimated to be generating advertising revenues worth Rs 50-60 crore, excluding the Rs 125-150 crore ticket sales revenue over the three-day event that begins on October 28. ESPN-STAR Sports, the official broadcaster of the race, will generate ad revenues estimated to be in the region of Rs 5-6 crore. The channel is commanding prices in the range of Rs 4-4.5 lakh for a 10-second spot, while the associate sponsors have paid amounts estimated at Rs 2-2.5 crore.
Yes, the numbers look small when compared to cricket! However, this is also because the monetisation opportunity for the game is tricky. "Advertisers cannot run their spots during real time since the race will be on. Therefore, they can only advertise pre and post the event, with extension to on-ground activation. Thus, the scope of opportunity in real time when viewership is the highest is nil," says P M Balakrishna, chief operating officer, Allied Media.
Finacne Glossary
Bid: The price a buyer is willing to offer for shares in a company.
Blue Chip Stocks: Stocks of leading companies with a reputation for stable growth and earnings.
Insider: All those who have access to inside information concerning the company.
Penny stock: Shares selling at less than $1 a share.
Venture capital: Money raised by companies to finance new ventures in exchange for percentage ownership.
Option: The right to buy and sell certain securities at a specified price and period of time.
Futures: Contracts to buy or sell securities at a future date.
Samsung's big idea? Upsetting the Apple cart
SEOUL/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Just a few doors down from the Apple store in Sydney, where a long line of fans eagerly awaited the sale of the new iPhone 4S, another throng was gathering at a Samsung store.
Samsung was ambushing Apple at a temporary "pop up" store offering its new Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone for just A$2 to the first 10 customers each day in the run-up to the rival iPhone launch.
The guerrilla marketing tactic is the latest flare-up in the intensifying competition between two of the biggest players in the mobile devices industry that has also seen them battle in courts across the world over patents.
What makes the battle so captivating is that the two companies are such contrasts. Apple is known for innovation and big ideas that create whole new markets. What Samsung lacks in ideas, it makes up for with a sleek production system that is lightning fast in bringing new products to market.
Graphic on new iPhone vs Galaxy S II
Still, Samsung Electronics delayed the unveiling of its latest smartphone, the Nexus Prime, by a week to Wednesday as a sign of respect following the death of Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs -- Apple is Samsung's biggest customer for microprocessors.
The Nexus Prime has been much anticipated because it is based on the latest version of Google's Android operating system, named "Ice Cream Sandwich" after previous versions also named after foods, such as Gingerbread and Honeycomb.
But the war for smartphone dominance is one Samsung appears to be winning for now, just. Third-quarter figures are expected to show it has overtaken Apple as the world's biggest smartphone vendor in terms of units sold.
Apple, the world's largest technology company with a market value of $391 billion, is counter-punching hard as the holiday sales season approaches.
Buisness Quiz
Name the India made smart phone that has been built by technocrats of IIT Rajasthan and has been hailed as the “people’s i-phone”.
2. Name this corporate leader who has been nick named “neutron jack”.
3. Name this Indian IT major which has developed the project management software for implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
4. Name this IT giant which has roped in Tiger Woods as its brand ambassador.
5. Name this professor of electrical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who later established Bose Electronics.
6. Identify this Indian entrepreneur who recently bought a forty per cent stake in the Indian formula one team Force India.
7. Identify this Indian footballer who recently launched his own football franchise in the National Football League.
8. Identify the official sponsors of the Australian cricket team.
9. Recently Emami Group diversified into pharmaceutical retail business. Identify their brand.
10. Which Indian IT czar has penned the book “Imagining India”.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Thought of the Day
Good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.
INTERVIEW of VINEET NAYAR - Our growth story is one of margin expansion not dilution
Shares of HCL Technologies Ltd slumped 8.58% on the Bombay Stock Exchange on a day the bourse's benchmark Sensex declined 1.63% after the software services company's second quarter sales fell short of expectations despite volume growth of 5.1%. Vice-chairman and chief executive Vineet Nayar said in an interview that HCL expects many deals in the current quarter but the business environment remains tough. Edited excerpts: The street is a little disappointed by the show this time. It had expected better volume growth considering HCL is willing to trade margins for growth.
HCL has expanded its margins in the last three quarters, and it has grown as well at the same time. So if analysts say we have grown at the cost of the margins, I don't know what they are talking about. In this quarter, we again expanded our mar- gins, despite the salary in- crease impact of 300 basis points (three percentage points) and we have grown too.
So the margin expansion story continues and it's not a margin dilution one. From a growth point of view, we have grown at 5.1% in constant currency or 8.2% in INR (rupees), which is more than TCS and Infosys, two companies who have announced their results so far.
What do you attribute the cur rent volume growth to?
I think you are seeing run- of-the-business (non-discretionary) activity in the market at its peak. You will see change-the-business (discretionary) activity at its peak starting January, but that is subject to the environment continuing where it is. If it deteriorates, companies will release the run-of-the-business saving into P&L (profit and loss) rather than investing in change.
Business News
- Govt agrees to grant Internet service licence to Qualcomm
- Sun Pharma to buy remaining Taro stake
- Unitech Wireless rights issue in 2012
Campus News
Ishaian is going to make documantry movie on the theme of 'Baba Bane Manager' which is inaugurated on 22th Oct, 2011.
Venue - Auditorium
Real Estate Glossary
Assumption of Mortgage
A buyer’s agreement to assume the liability under an existing note that is secured by a mortgage or deed of trust. The lender must approve the buyer in order to release the original borrower (usually the seller) from liability.
Balloon Payment
A lump sum principal payment due at the end of some mortgages or other long-term loans
Binder
Sometimes known as an offer to purchase or an earnest money receipt. A binder is the acknowledgement of a deposit along with a brief written agreement to enter into a contract for the sale of real estate.
Writting Tips
As business becomes more complex, people have more distractions and less time to thoroughly read documents. Therefore, the ability to communicate effectively in writing, especially email and on the web, becomes more critical than ever.
Write with a clear purpose in mind, and state that purpose at the very beginning of your written communication. Readers should know at a glance what your email, report, or letter is about, why you are sending it, and what action you want them to take.
1. Keep it simple.
You may think complex sentences make you sound impressive, but they can prevent your ideas from getting across.Use “during” instead of “during the course of.”
Don’t say, “Is it possible to meet with you and your husband at your earliest possible convenience in order to discuss the matter of listing your home for sale with me and my company?” Instead, say “When may I talk with you and your husband about listing your home?”
You may think complex sentences make you sound impressive, but they can prevent your ideas from getting across.Use “during” instead of “during the course of.”
Don’t say, “Is it possible to meet with you and your husband at your earliest possible convenience in order to discuss the matter of listing your home for sale with me and my company?” Instead, say “When may I talk with you and your husband about listing your home?”
2. Avoid jargon and overuse of big words.
Sometimes you need a complex word or phrase to express your ideas clearly. But if a shorter word can do the job, use it instead.Use “speed up” instead of “expedite.”
Use “plan” instead of “strategize.”
Use “assume” instead of “postulate.”
Use “use” instead of “utilization.”
Use “try” instead of “endeavor.”
Use “sent” instead of “transmitted.”
Sometimes you need a complex word or phrase to express your ideas clearly. But if a shorter word can do the job, use it instead.Use “speed up” instead of “expedite.”
Use “plan” instead of “strategize.”
Use “assume” instead of “postulate.”
Use “use” instead of “utilization.”
Use “try” instead of “endeavor.”
Use “sent” instead of “transmitted.”
3. Use concrete, specific words rather than vague, general ones.
For example, say, “I have sold three houses in your neighborhood in the last year,” instead of “I’ve worked with several people in your neighborhood.”
For example, say, “I have sold three houses in your neighborhood in the last year,” instead of “I’ve worked with several people in your neighborhood.”
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Case: South Indian Bank
South Indian Bank was instituted in 1950. Most of the employees joined as clerks with matriculation qualification in 1950s and in 1960s became the branch managers and Regional managers by 1988. Thus, most of the managers of the bank are matriculates or graduates. These managers have been performing various functions including marketing functions of the bank like purchasing of deposits and selling of advances. Top management of the bank decided to employ candidates with MBA (Marketing) qualification as marketing executives in 1986. The managers of the bank protested against the management’s decisions saying that they could perform, with their long experience, the marketing functions more efficiently than MBAs. But the top management ignored the opposition of the managers and employed MBA (Marketing) candidates as Marketing Executives. MBAs joined the bank in 1987 and assumed the responsibilities of purchasing of deposits, selling advances and recovery of advances.
The performance of the bank was poor during 1987 and 1988 especially in areas like deposit mobilization (by 30%) sanctioning of advances (by 20%) and recovery of advances (by 40%). The personnel department, besides other departments of the bank, was asked to find out the reasons for the declining performance. The newly employed Marketing Executives felt that the old managers would not accept new ideas proposed by them, whereas the old managers opined that the marketing executives thought very high of themselves and did not allow themselves to share others’ experience and ideas. Both felt that there were no special interactions between the two groups.
Tata eyes Ethiopia's tea sector
The Tata group plans to grow tea in Ethiopia and is working towards setting up an automobile assembly plant in Mozambique as it seeks to expand business interests in Africa.
The group, owner of the Tetley tea brand, has approached Ethiopian authorities with a proposal to venture into tea farming in the landlocked country, said Esayas Kebede, director of Ethiopia's agriculture and rural development ministry.
“We are in communication.
We have regions in Ethiopia that are suitable for tea cultivation, as you have regions such as Assam,“ Kebede said in an interview in Hyderabad, where he attended an India-Africa business conference. Cheap land and labour costs in Africa are attracting Indian companies with business interests in agriculture, particularly pulses and edible oils. India imports around 8 million tonnes (mt) of edible oil worth `26,000 crore every year and 3.5 mt of pulses valued at `14,175 crore.
We have regions in Ethiopia that are suitable for tea cultivation, as you have regions such as Assam,“ Kebede said in an interview in Hyderabad, where he attended an India-Africa business conference. Cheap land and labour costs in Africa are attracting Indian companies with business interests in agriculture, particularly pulses and edible oils. India imports around 8 million tonnes (mt) of edible oil worth `26,000 crore every year and 3.5 mt of pulses valued at `14,175 crore.
Mint reported on 19 October that state-owned trading firm MMTC Ltd, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (Iff- co) and Bharti Enterprises plan to join the list of Indian companies engaged in commercial farming in Africa.
CHANDA KOCHHAR
(Born November 17, 1961)
_____________________________________________________________
Chanda Kochhar is currently the Managing Director (MD) of ICICI Bank and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). ICICI Bank is India's largest private bank and overall second largest bank in the country. She also heads the Corporate Centre of ICICI Bank.
Early life:
Chanda Kochhar was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She then moved to Mumbai, where she joined Jai Hind College for a Bachelor of Arts degree. After graduating in 1982 she then pursued Cost Accountancy ICWAI, Later, she acquired the Masters Degree in Management Studies from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. She received the Wockhardt Gold Medal for Excellence in Management Studies as well as the J. N. Bose Gold Medal in Cost Accountancy for highest marks in the same year.
Chanda Kochhar currently resides in Mumbai, and is married to Deepak Kochhar, a wind energy entrepreneur and her Business schoolmate. She has two children, a son and a daughter.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Thought of the Day
“Clocks slay time…
time is dead as long as it is being
clicked off by little wheels;
only when the clock stops
does time come to life. “
time is dead as long as it is being
clicked off by little wheels;
only when the clock stops
does time come to life. “
VARIANCE ANALYSIS
Definition:
In budgeting (or management accounting in general), a variance is the difference between a budgeted, planned or standard amount and the actual amount incurred/sold. Variances can be computed for both costs and revenues. It is the Process aimed at computing variance between actual and budgeted or targeted levels of performance, and identification of their causes.
Explanation:
Variance analysis is usually associated with explaining the difference (or variance) between actual costs and the standard costs allowed for the good output. For example, the difference in materials costs can be divided into a materials price variance and a materials usage variance. The difference between the actual direct labor costs and the standard direct labor costs can be divided into a rate variance and an efficiency variance. The difference in manufacturing overhead can be divided into spending, efficiency, and volume variances. Mix and yield variances can also be calculated. Variance analysis helps management to understand the present costs and then to control future costs.
Variance analysis is also used to explain the difference between the actual sales dollars and the budgeted sales dollars. Examples include sales price variance, sales quantity (or volume) variance, and sales mix variance. A difference in the relative proportion of sales can account for some of the difference in a company’s profits.
Types of variances
Variances can be divided according to their effect or nature of the underlying amounts.
1) When effect of variance is concerned, there are two types of variances:
· Favorable variance When actual results are better than expected results given variance is described as favorable variance. In common use favorable variance is denoted by the letter F - usually in parentheses (F).
· Unfavorable variance When actual results are worse than expected results given variance is described as adverse variance, or unfavorable variance. In common use adverse variance is denoted by the letter A or the letter U - usually in parentheses (A).
2) The second typology (according to the nature of the underlying amount) is determined by the needs of users of the variance information and may include e.g.
Finance Glossary
Back Testing: This means analyzing the history of the investment opportunity provided and comparing with the present trends to see how successful (if successful) the investment would be.
Best Ask: This is the lowest price of a security or asset which a seller can accept at a particular time.
Best Bid: This is the highest price of a security or asset which a buyer can give at a particular time.
Big Board: This is the major indigenous stock exchange company in the US, responsible for overseeing the activities in the stock exchange operations
Storyboard of Star CJ Alive
Agency -: Metal Communication
Category -: Media and Entrainment
TVC opens with a scene of early 50s household in black and white.
A man, leaving, is stopped by his daughter. In a nasal, lilting voice she asks him 'father, are you going out?'
He explains to her that he's going shopping for Diwali and getting lost in the thought says '...and for your old mother, I'll get...
Presentations Tips for PUBLIC SPEAKING
Know the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs. Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence. Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention. Practice and rehearse your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues. Use a tape-recorder and listen to yourself. Videotape your presentation and analyze it. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation
When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an actor is on stage. How you are being perceived is very important. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Be solemn if your topic is serious. Present the desired image to your audience. Look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Remain calm. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Establish rapport with your audience. Speak to the person farthest away from you to ensure your voice is loud enough to project to the back of the room. Vary the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary. If a microphone is available, adjust and adapt your voice accordingly
Body language is important. Standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head down and reading from a prepared speech. Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and necessary. Master the use of presentation software such as PowerPoint well before your presentation. Do not over-dazzle your audience with excessive use of animation, sound clips, or gaudy colors which are inappropriate for your topic. Do not torture your audience by putting a lengthy document in tiny print on an overhead and reading it out to them.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thought of the Day
All major religious traditions
carry basically the same message,
that is love, compassion and forgiveness.
the important thing is
they should be part of our daily lives.
carry basically the same message,
that is love, compassion and forgiveness.
the important thing is
they should be part of our daily lives.
Why there is no Indian Steve Jobs
VIRTUALLY every Saturday, Ajai Chowdhry, chairman and CEO of HCL Infosystems and one of the six co-founders of India's oldest computer company, HCL, spends a few hours listening to wannabe entrepreneurs. He listens to their ideas, looks at their business models and considers their pitches. Every once in a while, if he comes across an idea that interests or excites him, he goes a step further. He, and a few other senior executives like him, then ensure that that particular wannabe entrepreneur can manage to make the transition to actual entrepreneur.
They help out with critical start-up funding. But much more than money, they offer what these entrepreneurs really need and what they cannot find in any business school or bank. They offer mentoring and advice and the wisdom learnt through their experience of having walked this path earlier, on their own.
History
It's hard work, and consumes a lot of what every busy chief executive like Chowdhry is most short of — time. But he, and the dozens of other successful businessmen who form the Indian Angel Network, know that this is the critical difference between a dream staying on paper and the dream turning into reality.
Ajai Chowdhry should know that better than most. In 1976, his colleague in the Delhi Cloth Mills ( DCM), Shiv Nadar, had talked him, and four other colleagues and friends, into quitting DCM and starting their own computer company. Hindustan Computers Limited, as it was then known, managed to ship its first home designed, home- built microcomputer in 1978. Around the same time that a Syrian-American college drop-out called Steve Jobs had shipped his first microcomputer — the Macintosh.
This was the predecessor of the PC. But IBM was to lay claim to that term, and make it its own, a full three years later, when it managed to roll out its first desktop PC. IBM, of course, took a different route to becoming the world's largest technology company. And Jobs took Apple on a different journey altogether, making it arguably the world's most inventive technology company, and eventually the world's most valuable one. Period.
But what of HCL? Just imagine. Thirty six years ago, all three companies were virtually at the same point in the industry's lifecycle. Apple and HCL, in fact, were so similar, they could have been twins. Jobs started Apple in a garage.
Nadar, Chowdhry and their friends started their company in a south Delhi ' barsati'. Apple took an off- the- shelf microprocessor and built a computer around it. And then developed the software to make it run. HCL took an off- the- shelf microprocessor and built a computer around it. And then wrote the software to make it run. At virtually the same time.
Nearly four decades later, the picture has changed dramatically. Today, HCL is admittedly a very successful company. It has revenues in excess of $ 6 billion and is among the top five players in the country in all the sectors that it operates in.
ONLINE SHOPPING - Jeffery Bezos: the birth of a salesman
Jeffrey Preston Bezos was four years old when he first arrived at his grandfather's cattle ranch in Cotulla, Texas.
The Lazy G is a sprawling 25,000-acre spread in the south-west part of the state--an unspoiled habitat of mesquite and oak trees, the home of whitetail deer (popular among local hunters), wild turkeys, doves, quail, feral hogs and sheep.
The Lazy G is a sprawling 25,000-acre spread in the south-west part of the state--an unspoiled habitat of mesquite and oak trees, the home of whitetail deer (popular among local hunters), wild turkeys, doves, quail, feral hogs and sheep.
Jeff's maternal grandfather, Lawrence Preston Gise, was a just-retired rocket scientist who was ready to trade in his missile research for the simple and demanding life at the ranch, and he wanted to share that life with his grandson. Un- til he was 16 years old, Jeff spent every summer there.
At the ranch he learned to clean stalls, to brand and castrate cattle, to install plumbing and to handle other ranch- hand tasks. One day, his grandfather towed in a dilapidated D6 Caterpillar bulldozer with a stripped transmission.
Fixing it would be tough: He would have to remove a 500-pound gear from the engine. No problem; he simply built himself a small crane. Jeff helped.
Fixing it would be tough: He would have to remove a 500-pound gear from the engine. No problem; he simply built himself a small crane. Jeff helped.
“One of the things that you learn in a rural area like that is self-reliance,“ Bezos said.
“People do everything themselves. That kind of self-reliance is something you can learn, and my grandfather was a huge role model for me: If something is broken, let's fix it.
To get something new done you have to be stubborn and focused, to the point that others might find unreasonable".
“People do everything themselves. That kind of self-reliance is something you can learn, and my grandfather was a huge role model for me: If something is broken, let's fix it.
To get something new done you have to be stubborn and focused, to the point that others might find unreasonable".
Corporate personality Introduction DR. BRIJMOHAN LALL MUNJAL
DR. BRIJMOHAN LALL MUNJAL
Founder - Hero Group
Dr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal is an Indian businessman and the founder of The Hero Group which owns Hero Honda Motors in India and is one of the richest people in India. Brijmohan Lall Munjal was born in 1923 at Kamalia in unpartitioned India. Kamalia is now in Pakistan. He was from a simple middle-class Hindu family. After completing his formal education he worked at the Army Ordnance Factory, before moving his base to India after partition.
In 1944, when Brijmohan was 20, his family sensed partition, So Brijmohan along with his elder brothers Dayanand Munjal, Satyanand Munjal and his younger brother Om Prakash Munjal came to India and settled in Amritsar. The brothers initially started a business by supplying components to manufacturers of bicycles in and around Amritsar. After the partition in 1947 the Munjal family completely shifted their base from Pakistan to Ludhiana. At that point and still today Ludhiana was an important destination for manufacturing and industry hub of bicycles and textiles. Slowly they expanded their distribution network and by early 1950s they were supplying components of bicycles throughout India.
In 1954 - Hero Cycles Ltd. moved up the value chain by making a shift from supplying to manufacturing. They started manufacturing handlebars, front forks and chains. In 1956, the Punjab Government issued tender notices for twelve new industrial licenses to make bicycles in Ludhiana. Brijmohan Lall Munjal and his brothers participated in the bid and won the contract. Hero Cycles was registered as a large-scale industrial unit. The capital was partly financed by the Government of Punjab. By 1986 Hero Cycles Limited entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest manufacturers of bicycles in the world.
Before entering into a joint venture with Honda Motors, Dr. Munjal started the Majestic Auto Limited and started to manufacture Hero Majestic Moped. To manufacture motor cycles in 1984 the Hero Group started a joint venture with Hero Honda. Hero Group expanded so big that by 2002 they had sold 86 million bicycles producing 16000 bicycles a day.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Case Study on Maruti Suzuki
Introduction:
Maruti's history can be traced back to the 1970s, when the Indian government decided to develop an affordable small car, named the 'people's car.' The car would target the middle class in India
Since the late 1980s, Maruti had been the market leader in the passenger car industry in India
Business News
- Mahindra suspends fresh XUV booking
- Maruti workers told to vacate premises
Mahindra suspends fresh XUV booking
Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, the country's largest utility vehicle maker, has deferred accepting fresh bookings for its newly launched XUV 500 as it is unable to cope with the demand, the firm said in statement.
The firm received close to 8,000 bookings since it started selling the vehicle from 1 October.
“Priority is to expedite deliveries for existing bookings; hence, a decision has been taken to not open up new cities immediately. This may help in advancing delivery dates already committed”, it said.
Maruti workers told to vacate premises
Toughening its stand over striking workers at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, the Gurgaon district administration has advised the workers to refrain from taking law into their hands and help in preparing conducive atmosphere for negotiations. This decision was taken at a meeting of senior officers of district administration, police and labour department on Wednesday. “It was also decided in the meeting that movement of men and material in all the three plants should be free, and workers sitting on strike inside the plants have been advised to vacate the premises ...immediately so that a conducive atmosphere of negotiations can be created”, the district administration said in a statement.
(Source-: mintlive.com)
Glossary of Hospitality
Limited Service Hotels
Brand hotels with franchise memberships of recognized hotels, built within limited areas without a restaurant. These hotels are located near business areas such as industrial parks, cities, and airport terminals.
Low (off-peak) Season
The consecutive months during which the lowest revenues, room/suite occupancy and average room rates are generated. In the Rajasthan this is generally April to September.
Mini Bar
A specially designed small floor mounted refrigerator containing a variety of beverages and snacks located in guest rooms, with individual guest room key access. This amenity serves as a more credible and profitable substitute for room service.
M.O.D.
Manager On Duty.
Motel
Overnight accommodation originally targeted to automobile travelers and therefore, situated at roadside locations. A more contemporary definition would be the provision of accommodation only, with no other amenities and services provided by the motel.